The good news is, according to this News OK report, technology developments are emerging to help individuals suffering with such an addiction. And, when such technology platforms are combined with key medications, individuals may be able to more successfully overcome their addictions.

A prescription monitoring program has been put in place in Oklahoma by the state Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. This program helps to secure access to registered pharmacies and practitioners in good standing. Prescription fraud is prevented by allowing regulatory and law enforcement agencies access to the electronic system.

A drug disposal program is also getting under way in the state and disposal boxes are expected to be in place within the next week. By 2014, hospitals throughout the nation must have electronic health records set up to ease the tracking of patient care. A tie-in with the prescription monitoring program should help to eliminate doctor shopping and other manipulative efforts by prescription drug addicts to secure their next fix.

According to industry research, painkiller prescriptions throughout the nation are rising, and not all because of legitimate purposes. One in five Americans have reported chronic pain that lasts for several months or longer and Hydrocodone retail sales have risen by 178 percent, demanding regulatory change to help save addicts from themselves.
 

These are families in crisis. Over the years, the addiction has damaged not only the addict but the family and friends who have dealt with the chaos the addict has created. Addiction tends to run in families, so the addict in crisis might not be the only one dealing with drug or alcohol issues. By the time the family seeks out an interventionist patterns of co-dependency and enabling have been cemented. This means that although some family members may feel committed to the intervention, the risk for unintentional sabotage of the process is high.

“They are fragmented people,” explains Jane Mintz, a licensed addiction intervention specialist who has come to be known as a specialist in handling very complex, potentially volatile interventions. “They have different opinions. The intervention is as much about the families as it is about the affected individual. They’re in as much crisis.”

One of the goals of the intervention process is to help families understand the difference between enabling the addict and a responsible relationship.

“The addict is the master of illusion. They will look for the family member who might buckle during the intervention and try to manipulate them. For that reason, it’s critical that all family members feel like part of the greater good. You can only do that by truly assessing and understanding the family. If you don’t do that, you could unknowingly become co-dependent with the family, putting yourself and them in danger,” says Jane Mintz.

Jane has a systemized way to get families to start to align. She starts by first assessing for immediacy and risk – is someone at imminent risk for hurting themselves or other people? The next step is to give the family an opportunity to talk about the situation so she can determine if it’s an appropriate case for her to handle.

Once that occurs, Jane conducts an in-person meeting or a conference call where all the family members can ask questions and talk about their experience. This helps her start to organize the intervention as she starts to hear their personalities and understand their relationship to the addict.

Once Jane has answered their questions, the family takes the time they need to make the decision to move forward. If the family decides to move forward, they fill out a pre-intervention worksheet. Jane also explains to them the rules of engagement. This sets out the appropriate behavior in the intervention to make it effective and prevent escalation during the encounter.

Once a date is set, Jane flies out to wherever the family is located. They hold a pre-intervention meeting, something like a rehearsal.

“I don’t think you can really rehearse. You can only prepare people and come up with a strategy. Once the intervention starts, it’s like live TV – it doesn’t necessarily go the way you expect it to go,” Jane explains.

In most of Jane’s cases, the client does decide to go to treatment. Her close rate is over 98 percent.

“I personally transport the client to treatment then I case manage them while they are in an organized treatment environment and beyond. I have families that I intervened on five years ago who occasionally still call me with questions,” Jane says.

Part of that case management is keeping families together, Jane explains. “The family is now the board of directors. People are misinformed if they it’s just about the addict in crisis. When the family starts to move in a different direction the addict panics, so it’s important for family members to stay aligned throughout the process so the addict cannot divide and conquer.”

The alignment the interventionist creates especially pays off during the first 10 days of treatment.

“The addict will kick up a lot of dust the first week in treatment,” Jane explains. “They’ve been put in the wrong place. They’re not that bad. A terrible mistake has been made. If they say, ‘The food was great, not sure I liked my pillow, but I think I’m fine now so I’m coming home,’ the aligned family can respond with a unified message: we will support you in recovery, but we will not support your addiction any longer.”

Jane also has the family write a bottom-line letter. The addict is not given this letter before he or she goes into treatment.

“Everyone who participated in the intervention signs the letter. It’s a document from the family saying where they stand, not as individuals but as a group,” Jane explains. “Everybody is bound because signing this letter is very powerful for them. No one wants to break the contract.”

The bottom-line letter is placed in a sealed envelope and kept in the admissions office at the treatment center. If the addict tries to leave treatment, the letter is unsealed.

“Intervention clients are quick to forget what happened in the intervention and why people intervened in the first place, so the bottom-line letter is about helping them understand what no really means to the family, what leaving really means,” Jane says.

The alignment of the family allows each individual to work with the whole toward the goal of recovery. It is critical when hiring an interventionist to ensure her or she has the training and skills that will enable them to align the family appropriately so that the intervention has the best possible chance of success.

Intervention Basics
An intervention is simply an orchestrated attempt to get someone to seek professional help. During an intervention, family and friends gather together to confront a loved one in a compassionate way, encouraging him or her to seek professional help with alcoholism, drug addiction, or another problem. An intervention team usually includes three to eight people who are important in the life of the loved one.

If you are initiating an intervention, you’ll want to form a group and gather information about your loved one’s problem. You’ll also want to make arrangements to enroll your loved one in a specific treatment program, keeping it confidential. Each group member should write a letter to read during the intervention—the letter should express love and concern as well as detail specific problems brought on by the loved one’s behaviors. The letters should also outline consequences of not accepting treatment, such as asking the person to move out or explaining that he or she will be allowed less contact with certain loved ones.

When the intervention date arrives, the loved one should be asked to the intervention site without revealing the reason. Then the letters are read and a specific treatment option is given, which the loved one is asked to accept on the spot. Keep the tone of the conversation loving and compassionate but powerful—you don’t want to come off as if you’re attacking your loved one, but you still want to get your point across. The intervention shouldn’t last longer than an hour.

Intervention Professionals
You may want to hire an intervention professional if you feel you need additional support. Interventionists can also serve as neutral, unbiased coaches and can even escort your loved one to the treatment facility. You may want to consider using a professional interventionist if your loved one has a history of serious mental illness and/or violence, has previously attempted or talked about suicide, is taking several mood-altering substances, or is prone to significant denial or anger. To find an interventionist, ask for recommendations from a reputable treatment center or online resource.

Ensuring Success
Interventions involve intense emotions and can cause conflict and resentment, so they need to be carefully planned and executed. Here are some tips to help ensure a successful intervention:
1.) Research your loved one’s problem using reputable sources, and make sure each team member is using the same resources.
2.) Appoint one person to act as a liaison for all team members, and ask him or her to hold conference calls or meetings with the team to discuss the progress.
3.) Create a list of tasks to complete and assign at least one task to each team member.
4.) Stage a rehearsal of the intervention with all the team members to decide the order of reading, sitting arrangements, and other details so the actual intervention goes smoothly.
5.) Talk about the objections your loved one might have with the team and write down calm, logical rebuttals so that you are all prepared.
6.) Don’t offer your loved one time to think about accepting treatment—this can lead the person to go into hiding or go on a dangerous binge.

Refusal of Treatment
In some cases, a loved one will refuse the treatment offer and become extremely angry and resentful. You’ll need to prepare yourself for this possible reaction. If treatment is refused, make sure you and your team members follow through on the consequences you warned your loved one about. These can be powerful motivators and may lead your loved one to seek help shortly down the road. Try to remain hopeful and know that while you don’t have control over your loved one’s actions, you do have control over whether you are affected by them.

For more information on interventions visit Addiction Intervention or contact a treatment center.

Source: Mayo Clinic, Intervention: Help a Loved One Overcome Addiction, May 2009